Apple today filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former employee who allegedly used his position in the company to steal “sensitive trade secret information” from Apple which was then leaked to a journalist and published in rumor articles.
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Lancaster worked at Apple for more than a decade, using his seniority to attend internal meetings and access documents that Apple said were “beyond the scope of his job responsibilities.” Details he obtained were published in media articles quoting “a source” at Apple.
In exchange for the leaked information, Lancaster asked the media person he was in contact with for favors, such as offering favorable coverage of a start-up company in which Lancaster had invested.
Until November 1, 2019, Lancaster was employed as an Advanced Materials Lead and Product Design Architect who was involved in various hardware projects. Its role was to evaluate materials and prototype innovations for future hardware devices. On 29 November 2018, he started leaking details to the media contact through text messages, emails and phone calls.
After resigning from Apple, Lancaster ‘deepened’ his relationship with the media correspondent he spoke to, and Apple’s internal investigation into Apple devices that Lancaster returned after employment suggested that he communicate about ‘specific Apple trade secrets’. while also taking “specific” steps “to seek additional information. On its final day, Lancaster downloaded a” significant number “of confidential Apple documents.
Furthermore, forensic review of the devices that Apple provided to Lancaster for its work at Apple, shows that Lancaster and the correspondent were coordinated to study specific documents and product information from Apple. The correspondent has on several occasions requested Lancaster to obtain specific Apple secret documents and information. On several occasions, Lancaster sent the correspondent some of the requested confidential material using Apple-owned devices. On other occasions, Lancaster personally met with the correspondent to provide them with the requested confidential information from Apple.
According to Apple, the information shared by Lancaster contains details about “unreleased Apple hardware products, unannounced feature changes to existing hardware products, and future product announcements.” He also took on a new role at Arris Composites, a seller under Apple, and Apple says he had access to confidential information that would help Arris leak Apple documents to the media.
Apple does not give details on which products were leaked by Lancaster, but many of the leaks took place around October and November of 2019 and relate to what Apple calls ‘Project X’. Just after Lancaster left, he actually spoke to the journalist to whom he had leaked details and congratulated the person on the success of an article containing details he had leaked.
Like all Apple employees, Lancaster signed a “Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Agreement” before being hired by Apple prohibiting them from sharing confidential and proprietary information, plus attending “security training” and “Business Conduct” events that was aimed at preventing theft of secrets. documents.
Apple is now claiming damages that arose as a result of the trade secrets that Lancaster stole, and Apple plans to determine the amount during the trial. Apple also wants to recover from Lancaster all the profits, gains and benefits it has gained through the theft of documents.
The case was first shared by AppleInsider this afternoon. We’ve included the full document below, and it’s a fascinating read that covers the lay culture in Apple and the lengths the company is going to work on to put an end to it.